What is Staff Development?
What is staff development? Why is staff development important? How do you develop staff?
These are some of the most "searched for" questions related to staff development according to Answer the Public.
Let's break it down today.
What is Staff Development?
To me, staff development is anything you do - with intentionality - to ensure your staff are learning, growing, and performing. Staff development should be:
aligned to your organization’s priorities
relevant to you and your audience
designed to increase comprehension and promote behavior change
measurable and actionable
Why is Staff Development Important?
At Skill Masters Market, we believe people excel when they know what is expected of them and they can show up authentically at work. We believe people are worthy of investment, and we believe investing in your people makes them feel valued and gives them new skills and a new passion for their work. We believe organizations are better when they empower their people to operate from their strongest capabilities. And that's why we focus on staff development.
The data supports the importance of staff development. Udemy Business found that offering leadership training made businesses 4.2x more likely to outperform others.
How Do You Develop Staff?
Staff development can include training for entry-level staff, manager training, leadership coaching, on-the-job supports, mentors, and so much more.
Here's our approach...
Our team will work with you to do one or all of the following:
Establish trust and relationships through team building workshops.
Identify the leadership competencies your staff need to be successful.
Create a learning strategy that aligns with those competencies.
Design learning experiences that improve performance using instructional design best practices. Modalities include virtual instructor-led training, self-paced eLearning, in-person training, job aids, email drip training, etc.
Provide assessments to identify your leaders’ strengths and/or cultural competence (360 assessments, Intercultural Development Inventory IDI).
Provide short- or long-term leadership coaching to develop skills.
Provide or connect leaders with the coaching programs for women, emerging leaders, and leaders of color.
As an example, staff development efforts may focus on leadership skills, management skills, strategic thinking, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and more.
How to Get Started
Follow me on LinkedIn for more content and resources.
Send me an email - heather@skillmastersmarket.com - with the subject line "Staff Development" and share a little bit about your organization and what your needs are.
Schedule a free call.
About the Author
An experienced learning & development professional, Heather Burright is a principal consultant with Skill Masters Market.